In suits for divorce, the county or city in which the parties last cohabited, or at the option of the plaintiff, in the county or city in which the defendant resides, if a resident of this Commonwealth, and in cases in which an order of publication may be issued against the defendant under § 8.01-316, venue may also be in the county or city in which the plaintiff resides. (Virginia Code - Title 8 - Sections: 8.01-261)

(1) On the application of either party if and when the husband and wife have lived separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for one year. In any case where the parties have entered into a separation agreement and there are no minor children either born of the parties, born of either party and adopted by the other or adopted by both parties, a divorce may be decreed on application if and when the husband and wife have lived separately and apart without cohabitation and without interruption for six months. (Virginia Code - Title 20 - Sections: 20-91)

Separate property is (i) all property, real and personal, acquired by either party before the marriage; (ii) all property acquired during the marriage by bequest, devise, descent, survivorship or gift from a source other than the other party; (iii) all property acquired during the marriage in exchange for or from the proceeds of sale of separate property, provided that such property acquired during the marriage is maintained as separate property; and (iv) that part of any property classified as separate. Marital property is (i) all property titled in the names of both parties, whether as joint tenants, tenants by the entirety or otherwise, except as provided by subdivision A 3, (ii) that part of any property classified as marital, or (iii) all other property acquired by each party during the marriage which is not separate property. The court will consider the following factors when dividing the property: a. The contributions, monetary and nonmonetary, of each party to the well-being of the family; b. The contributions, monetary and nonmonetary, of each party in the acquisition and care and maintenance of such marital property of the parties; c. The duration of the marriage; d. The ages and physical and mental condition of the parties; e. The circumstances and factors which contributed to the dissolution of the marriage f. How and when specific items of such marital property were acquired; g. The debts and liabilities of each spouse, the basis for such debts and liabilities, and the property which may serve as security for such debts and liabilities; h. The liquid or nonliquid character of all marital property; i. The tax consequences to each party; j. The use or expenditure of marital property by either of the parties for a nonmarital separate purpose or the dissipation of such funds, when such was done in anticipation of divorce or separation or after the last separation of the parties; and k. Such other factors as the court deems necessary or appropriate to consider in order to arrive at a fair and equitable monetary award. (Virginia Code - Title 20 - Sections: 20-107.3)

The court shall consider the following when making a support award: A. The obligations, needs and financial resources of the parties, including but not limited to income from all pension, profit sharing or retirement plans, of whatever nature; B. The standard of living established during the marriage; C. The duration of the marriage; D. The age and physical and mental condition of the parties and any special circumstances of the family; E. The extent to which the age, physical or mental condition or special circumstances of any child of the parties would make it appropriate that a party not seek employment outside of the home; F. The contributions, monetary and nonmonetary, of each party to the well-being of the family; G. The property interests of the parties, both real and personal, tangible and intangible; H. The provisions made with regard to the marital property; I. The earning capacity, including the skills, education and training of the parties and the present employment opportunities for persons possessing such earning capacity; J. The opportunity for, ability of, and the time and costs involved for a party to acquire the appropriate education, training and employment to obtain the skills needed to enhance his or her earning ability; K. The decisions regarding employment, career, economics, education and parenting arrangements made by the parties during the marriage and their effect on present and future earning potential, including the length of time one or both of the parties have been absent from the job market; L. The extent to which either party has contributed to the attainment of education, training, career position or profession of the other party; and M. Such other factors, including the tax consequences to each party, as are necessary to consider the equities between the parties. (Virginia Code - Title 20 - Sections: 20-95 and 10-107.1 and 20-108.1)

Custody, whether joint or sole, will be awarded to the father or the mother or both based on the best interests of the children. There are no specific factors considered by the courts, but the following is a list of typical factors taken into consideration when determining a custody arrangement that is best for the children. These factors are, but are not limited to; the age of the children, the health of the children, the wishes of the children, the parental roles of each parent, and the needs of the children. (Virginia Code - Title 20 - Sections: 20-107.2)

Upon entry of a decree providing (i) for the dissolution of a marriage, (ii) for a divorce, whether from the bond of matrimony or from bed and board, (iii) that neither party is entitled to a divorce, or (iv) for separate maintenance, the court may make such further decree as it shall deem expedient concerning the custody or visitation and support of the minor children of the parties, including an order that either party provide health care coverage. The finding that rebuts the guidelines shall state the amount of support that would have been required under the guidelines, shall give a justification of why the order varies from the guidelines, and shall be determined by relevant evidence pertaining to the following factors affecting the obligation, the ability of each party to provide child support, and the best interests of the child: A. Actual monetary support for other family members or former family members; B. Arrangements regarding custody of the children; C. Imputed income to a party who is voluntarily unemployed or voluntarily under-employed; provided that income may not be imputed to the custodial parent when a child is not in school, child care services are not available and the cost of such child care services are not included in the computation; D. Debts of either party arising during the marriage for the benefit of the child; E. Debts incurred for production of income; F. Direct payments ordered by the court for health care coverage, maintaining life insurance coverage pursuant to subsection G, education expenses, or other court-ordered direct payments for the benefit of the child and costs related to the provision of health care coverage H. Extraordinary capital gains such as capital gains resulting from the sale of the marital abode; I. Age, physical and mental condition of the child or children, including unreimbursed medical or dental expenses, and child-care expenses; J. Independent financial resources, if any, of the child or children; K. Standard of living for the family established during the marriage; L. Earning capacity, obligations and needs, and financial resources of each parent; M. Education and training of the parties and the ability and opportunity of the parties to secure such education and training; N. Contributions, monetary and nonmonetary, of each party to the well-being of the family; O. Provisions made with regard to the marital property P. Tax consequences to the parties regarding claims for dependent children and child care expenses; Q. A written agreement between the parties which includes the amount of child support; R. A pendente lite decree, which includes the amount of child support, agreed to by both parties or by counsel for the parties; and S. Such other factors, including tax consequences to each party, as are necessary to consider the equities for the parents and children. (Virginia Code - Title 20 - Sections: 20-107.2, 20-108.1 and 20-108.2)

One would typically file for divorce in the state in which he or she or his or her spouse resides. If you have recently moved to a new state and wish to file in that new state, you may have to establish a residency requirement prior to filing. We have provided a brief overview of the residency requirements for each state which can be accessed here.

If you are in the military and are stationed on a base outside your residency state, you typically are able to file in that state or in your residency state.

If you are in the military and are stationed overseas, you would typically file in your home residency state.

Yes. The system and your documents will address all the issues regarding your children such as, but not limited to; custody arrangements, visitation and time-sharing, child support, and medical coverage.

The filing and/or court fees are not included in our fee and typically range from $50.00 to $350.00 in total depending on your location of filing and whether or not you have children. The 3StepDivorce service will typically help you yield the lowest filing fee for you because both you and your spouse are in agreement.

The process takes an average of less than 1 hour to answer the required questions and generate the documents. Once you file your documents with the court according the filing instructions we provide you, the length of time will vary depending on the number of cases in front of yours. Each court has only one or just a few Judges, Masters, or Referees to review all the pending cases.

As a rule of thumb, for uncontested divorces, the spouse who really wants the divorce to be finalized should do the filing. Since your divorce is uncontested, technically it does not make a difference who files.

The documents are filed at your local county courthouse in the family law or domestic relations division or department. The 3StepDivorce service will provide you with easy to understand step-by-step instructions for filing your documents.

Many courts do permit you to mail and/or fax the documents. This will vary from county to county and state to state, so it will be best to check with the clerk at the courthouse when you are ready to file.

Depending on your state and your situation, you may or may not have to attend a short hearing. Most of the time when a hearing is required, it only lasts 10-15 minutes and only the filing spouse must attend. The hearing is where you will be granted your divorce and the judge will sign the final judgment or decree.

The 3StepDivorce premium divorce software and service is designed for you to do your own uncontested divorce without hiring a lawyer. You will be acting as your own lawyer and filing for your own divorce. Should you need or desire legal advice or should your divorce become contested, we do suggest you hire the services of a lawyer.

The wife has the option to change her name back to her former or maiden name through the 3StepDivorce solution.

The divorce is typically finalized when the Judge signs the final judgment or decree. We give a window of 30-90 days from the filing date, but this will vary due to case load at the courthouse and any mandatory waiting periods.